Enlightened Science
Superscience is the result of genius, inspiration, and hard work, not the pandering of a schmuck to some mythical realm for permission to break the laws of reality. Ok. What is enlightened science? well, in a consensual universe, we're going to start in microcosm. The world exists because this guy this mage (Awake or not) believes it does. Because he believes it operates based on certain laws, it does. If he believes that by chanting latin backwards while doing a hand stand and dancing the hokey pokey, a dragon will come and serve him, it will. More appropriate to the example, If he believes that the world is round, gravity is a function of mass, the speed of light is as near a constant as is possible, then they are. Here's the thing. These laws aren't LAWS to a scientist. They're theories. They're the closest thing he's going to get to the truth, until a better truth comes along. Since he's the only guy in our little hypothetical world, he can come up with new theories all the time, and if he can create a demonstratable reason for this rule to work, then it works that way, and not the way the old theory works. He'll continue with this hypothesis until a new idea for how it might work pops into his head, and that idea fits all the empirical evidence he's gathered. This is the basis of scientific theory.... but with a person who, consciously or uncosciously forces the universe to obey his theories, even Science gets subjective. Now, of course, we have to add more people to this empty world. Now, there are five scientists. Scientist A presents a theory. Scientist B's theories completely negate scientist A's theory. Now we've got a problem. But it works out, because we have three more scientists. If these scientists can show their theories both effective, they've all got to go back to the drawing board to find a theory that fits ALL of their evidence. You can see how complicated this gets. Since every mage makes his own evidence, what ends up coming out is either a very complicated rule, full of exceptions, or one very simple rule, when one scientist bashes the head in of the others, metaphorically or physically. Now bring the number of "scientists" up to 6 billion. Think about that now. Six billion people, each with their own personal worldviews. Complicated, isn't it? so how do we get this wonderfully nifty body of working physics, biology, chemistry and everything else? well, here's how. Education. By teaching a large number of this six billion the exact same set of rules, beating it into their skulls, as it were, then we get one simple set of rules, as the sheer numbers win the arguement for the masses. but now we've got a problem. These people have to be taught new theories every time someone makes a breakthrough. How are we going to manage that, without rewriting textbooks every few years? Well, we rewrite textbooks every few years, for one thing. for another, we train people to do something we learned from the church:to Have faith. Science has a good explanation for why humans cant fly, dragons shouldn't exist, gravity works, the earth is round, and J-lo is a ho. Trust in Science. We know what we're doing. If people believe in that logical, scientific and theirfore provable answer exists, then it does, even if they don't know what that answer is. the trick is to find that answer; that proof or that new bit of evidence. So what is Enlightened Science? From a Technocratic standpoint, it's Working WITH the physical world. Instead of changing things, they operate within the existing body of physics, chemistry, and biology. They search out the grey areas, the absolute outer reaches of that technology, for the evidence of why things work the way they do, and then they apply that knowledge in amazing ways. if Some new mainstream theory invalidates their work, they figure out why it managed to operate, log the exception, and keep going, working to make the technocracy's accepted Mainline paradigm work that much smoother. Etherites are a little different. Etherites know reality is consensual...and behave accordingly. It's fun, really. Since Heisenbergs' uncertainty principle s at the heart of the etherite paradigm, they work with it. My rules, whether consciously or unconsciously, effect my evidence, which is what my rules are based on. Therefore, my Science is unique, my theories build upon themselves to the point where they might diverge from the normal pack of hypotheses that everyone else works under in a massive way... but that doesn't make it not Science. The Etherites simply apply scientific theory the only way they can; testing what works and what doesn't in THEIR world, their paradigm, their personal set of theories. Virtual Adepts are Technomancers, not Scientists. They took a flying leap into the Tech as Focus, and have lost the actual Science part in the main. Their foci are basically computerized magic, not Science. SOME are still based in technological wizardry, making computers and electronics do things they were never meant to do through programming tricks and hardware hacks, but most are just script kiddies, slinging code just as a hermetic would sling Ennochian chants or vials of elixirs.